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A woman kept two of her five young children in makeshift cages and all of them lived in a home full of trash, rotting food and fleas on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, authorities said.

The conditions of Malista Ness-Hopkins’ home and children were detailed during a court hearing Friday in Accomac, a small town about 20 miles south of the Maryland border, according to the Daily Times of Salisbury, Md. The 38-year-old mother faces charges of abuse and neglect.

Her attorney told the judge that Ness-Hopkins, whose children range in age from 1 to 6 years old, was “overwhelmed.”

Accomack County Social Services worker Kate Bonniwell testified that she visited the home after her agency received a complaint in late July. She said two of the woman’s children were caged inside cribs. Rails taken from other cribs were screwed on top, confining them inside.

Bonniwell said it took her more than 20 minutes to unscrew one with an electric screwdriver. The 2-year-old child inside hissed at her and made noises she described as “animal sounds.” Once the top was removed, the child did not attempt to get out, Bonniwell said.

A 3-year-old was confined in another crib in the room, where a 1-year-old child was also found.

Bonniwell said the children were filthy and suffering from multiple bug bites. In another bedroom, two other children, ages 5 and 6, slept on bare mattresses, she said.

Bonniwell said the toilet in the home’s only bathroom was filled with black water. The sink and the bathtub were filled with trash, including plates of rotting food.

The children were removed from the home on July 28, the day social workers visited.

Bonniwell said Ness-Hopkins told her she was having a hard time and that she confined the children because she could not watch them. The mother said they had gotten out once and were playing with a can of Drano, Bonniwell testified.

Defense attorney Tucker Watson told the judge there was no evidence that the conditions in the home “were directly harmful to the children.”